Hoyanger, at the end of Hoyangsfjorden in Sognefjord, has several good hiking trails. Notable among them is Trappene (The Stairs), where 1,268 steps follow a hydropower penstock up to a height of 1,200 ft (360m) with wonderful views, and a tunnel, en route. With the run only 1,300 ft (400m), the grade is an incredibly steep 78%, but the views and the uniqueness of climbing beside the penstock are worth the effort.
From Sogndalsfjorden we made a 44nm, 7.6-hour run up Hoyangsfjorden. Anchoring is difficult at the head with minimum depths of 165-ft (50m), so we instead took a place on the Hoyanger Batforening marina guest dock with great views to the town and the mountains surrounding it. The next day, we made the much-anticipated hike up Trappene and continued on across Grimsosen Dam and up 2,880-ft (878m) Toppenhytta and returned back down on the many switchbacks of the steep road up from Hoyanger. We had a super-fun day and really enjoyed our stop in Hoyanger.
Below are highlights from November 7th and 8th, 2020. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.
11/7/2020
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Boat Yoga
Position: 61°7.48’N, 6°30.70’E
James striking the boat yoga pose “inverted bilge position” to access one of the hydronic heater units. Here we are correcting a broken wire between the aft fan head and the forward fan head in the guest stateroom. We replaced the wire, and left the broken old wire in place.
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Tansoy
Position: 61°9.80’N, 6°0.17’E
The 30k-knot catamaran car ferry Tansoy underway in Sognefjord.
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Hoyanger Berth
Position: 61°12.76’N, 6°4.51’E
Dirona on the dock at Hoyanger, with a 16-amp shorepower connection and water available.
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Boathouses
Position: 61°12.75’N, 6°4.57’E
Low clouds drifting behind brightly-painted boathouses on a calm evening at Hoyanger.
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Hoyanger Batforening
Position: 61°12.74’N, 6°4.61’E
Our berth on the guest dock at the Hoyanger Batforening marina at the head of Hoyangsfjord with a great view to town and down-fjord.
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11/8/2020
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Hoyanger
Position: 61°12.76’N, 6°4.50’E
The morning view to Hoyanger from our berth at the Hoyanger Batforening marina. Today we’ll be climbing the stairs alongside a penstock that runs up the mountain just beyond the silos at left.
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Cat Walk
Position: 61°12.93’N, 6°4.49’E
Cat walk in Hoyanger. Somebody loves their kitty.
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Eiriksdalskloven
Position: 61°13.04’N, 6°4.43’E
Crossing the river Eiriksdalskloven flowing through Hoyanger.
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Hoyanger Industry Museum
Position: 61°13.19’N, 6°4.33’E
The Hoyanger Industry Museum details the history of the Hoyanger district from agricultural settlement to industrial center. Too bad it’s closed for the winter, the photos online show it packed with interesting displays, particularly on the extensive hydro power generation in the area.
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Trappene Trailhead
Position: 61°13.18’N, 6°3.80’E
At the Trappene (“the stairs”) trailhead to walk up the stairs beside an early 19th-century penstock.
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Trappene
Position: 61°13.18’N, 6°3.80’E
1,268 steps lead up the penstock, just visible at left, to a height of 1,200ft (360m) over a 1,300ft (400m) run. That’s an incredibly steep 78% grade.
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400 Steps
Position: 61°13.22’N, 6°3.74’E
The stairs are labeled every 100 steps. We’re a third of the way up here at 400 out of 1,268 at an altitude of 486 ft (148 m).
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Hoyangsfjord
Position: 61°13.24’N, 6°3.71’E
The view down to the head of Hoyangsfjord from altitude 605 ft (184 m) on the Trappene. Dirona is visible on the dock at the top of the picture, directly above James’ head (click image for a larger view).
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Tunnel
Position: 61°13.30’N, 6°3.63’E
The penstock passes through a tunnel at altitude 922 ft (281 m), about 1000 steps up. Hoyanger is way, way below us now.
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1200 steps
Position: 61°13.35’N, 6°3.57’E
Nearing the top of the Trappene at 1200 steps. Only 68 left to go!
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Trappene Top
Position: 61°13.38’N, 6°3.50’E
A happy Jennifer, sporting a Halifax Mooseheads shirt, at the top of the Trappene. Dirona is just visible at the far side in the distance (click image for a larger view). With the temperature at 50°F, (10°C) we started the day all bundled up in hats, gloves and warm winter coats, but got so warm on the stairs up that we were down to T-shirts by the time we reached the top. We really enjoyed the walk up the stairs, particularly the great views, the tunnel and being so close to the historic penstock.
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Penstocks
Position: 61°13.38’N, 6°3.51’E
Major penstocks criss-cross the Hoyanger area. Over the course of the day we counted at least ten. At the top of the stairs, the one we’d been following continued on and passed under another at right angles.
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Dalsdalen Valley
Position: 61°13.21’N, 6°2.83’E
From the top of the Trappene, we followed a marked trail west to the dam Grimsosen where we would hike up to 2880ft (878m) Toppenhytta. Here we are stopping for a break with a great view into the Dalsdalen valley behind Hoyanger. Dirona is visible at upper right (click image for a larger view).
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Dirona
Position: 61°13.21’N, 6°2.83’E
Dirona moored at the Hoyanger Batforening marina at the head of Hoyangsfjord, viewed from the trail between the Trappene and the dam Grimsosen.
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Grimsosen Dam
Position: 61°13.24’N, 6°2.53’E
At the base of the Grimsosen Dam, originally built in the early 1900s.
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Crossing Dam
Position: 61°13.22’N, 6°2.45’E
Crossing the top of the Grimsosen Dam to reach the trail up Toppenhytta.
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Bergsvatnet
Position: 61°13.03’N, 6°1.93’E
The view north across the lake Bergsvatnet with the Grimsosen Dam we just crossed on the right and the Dalsdalen valley visible in the distance beyond.
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Toppenhytta
Position: 61°12.37’N, 6°1.43’E
Cairn at the summit of 2880ft (878m) Toppenhytta. It’s a lot colder and windier up here, so we’re back to wearing multiple layers.
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Lunch
Position: 61°12.41’N, 6°1.47’E
Lunch at Toppenhytta with a view northeast towards the across the Dalsdalen valley.
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Sognefjord
Position: 61°12.37’N, 6°1.42’E
The intersection of Sognefjord and Hoyangsfjord viewed from 2880ft (878m) Toppenhytta.
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Mountain Lakes
Position: 61°12.82’N, 6°1.61’E
Scenic mountain lakes on the trail down from Toppenhytta.
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Siplo Skisenter
Position: 61°13.68’N, 6°2.75’E
To create a loop, we took the main road to return back to Hoyanger. Here we are passing the chair lifts for the Siplo Skisenter. No snow yet, but it’s coming.
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Siplovatnet
Position: 61°13.62’N, 6°2.75’E
Enjoying the view from a bench overlooking Siplovatnet, another dammed lake in Hoyanger’s extensive hydropower network.
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Gap
Position: 61°13.55’N, 6°4.11’E
The road down the steep mountain to Hoyanger passed through a series of hairpin with frequent large gaps in the guard rails. We think the gaps were for pushing snow off the edge, but if you made a mistake a drove a car through there, you’d have an awful long time to think about it before coming to rest.
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Hairpins
Position: 61°13.58’N, 6°4.26’E
A car negotiating one of the many the hairpin turns on the road from Hoyanger.
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Hoyanger Church
Position: 61°13.10’N, 6°4.60’E
Hoyanger Church, opened in 1960. At right is the striking sculpture Toleranse by Hoyanger artist Geir Hjetland, who specializes in aluminum.
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Trappene View
Position: 61°12.89’N, 6°4.48’E
Looking back to the penstock we just walked beside along the Trappene, just left of the silos at center. It felt as steep as it looks.
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Dusk
Position: 61°12.76’N, 6°4.51’E
Dusk at Hoyanger Batforening marina in Sognefjord with the lights of Hoyanger beyond.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.
On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps. |
Hi Jennifer and James. I am enjoying your travels as a compensation for our own ‘ land locked’ state as our boat undergoes it’s 2 yearly stint out of the water. I was interested to read about your strategy of drying out the accommodations by cranking up the heating while underway. As our boat is much smaller than yours the wheelhouse would become unlivable if we turned up the heat in the cabins so we have developed the strategy of putting on electric air dryers while underway in the winter. The electricity is then also (almost) free. Do you also use air dryers?
Please keep writing so that we can keep reading :-)
Tony and Inge
Sounds like a good approach. We used to use a humidifier but it was recalled by the manufacturer 8 years back due to a safety item and we haven’t bothered to replace it. But, it’s a good approach and I’m sure it works well. The reason we heat the staterooms underway is we don’t normally heat the forward stateroom and drops down to the low 60F to high 50F range. When operating in cold areas, we think it’s sensible to get all parts of the boat warmed up at least periodically. It’s probably better for the boat to just keep everything warm but it doesn’t seem power efficient to heat rooms we aren’t using.
We hope your yard visit goes well.